Shoulder Presses (With Dumbbells)

[TimothyParker96]

Hello everyone, I am having trouble trying to figure out what weight to use for my shoulder presses.

I was trying to do 20lbs in each hand but my back will always bend, so I lowered it to 15lbs.

The problem is, now that my form is good, I can do like 15+ reps, but when I add 5 more pounds I can't even do one press with proper form.

I also noticed that after I did a day of presses at 15lbs (4x15) my shoulders were sore the next day, so should I keep doing it until I can do 20s with good form?

By the way my goal is hypertrophy so I'm trying to keep my sets/reps at 4 sets and no more than 12 reps.


Thank you for any help you can give me. I am fairly new to lifting, I was doing body weight exercises for like 3 months and I just bought my first dumbbells about a month ago.

[urg862]

Well since you can press 15lb with good form but not 20lb with good form then focus on adding a new intensity to you current weight until you can perform shoulder press w/ 20lbs. Although, if you can press 15lbs with good form for 15 reps I'm sure you could press 20lbs with good form at least once.

Intensities you could add for your current weight:
Cut the rest break in between sets of the shoulder press
Slow down the eccentric portion of the shoulder press reps
Drop sets
Performing a good 15 reps and then shoot for some half reps
If you have a realible spotter, perform some negatives (with the 15s or even the 20s)

^^^ these are just some options you could use to add intensity with the 15s that could help your body adapt and possibly push you through your plateu of not being able to shoulder press 20lbs

[TimothyParker96]

Well since you can press 15lb with good form but not 20lb with good form then focus on adding a new intensity to you current weight until you can perform shoulder press w/ 20lbs. Although, if you can press 15lbs with good form for 15 reps I'm sure you could press 20lbs with good form at least once.

Intensities you could add for your current weight:
Cut the rest break in between sets of the shoulder press
Slow down the eccentric portion of the shoulder press reps
Drop sets
Performing a good 15 reps and then shoot for some half reps
If you have a realible spotter, perform some negatives (with the 15s or even the 20s)

^^^ these are just some options you could use to add intensity with the 15s that could help your body adapt and possibly push you through your plateu of not being able to shoulder press 20lbs

Thank you! I think maybe the reason I couldn't do the 20s is because I had already done some other shoulder exercises.
I'll try the 20s again on my next chest/shoulder/tricep day (which is tomorrow). If I still can't do them then I will take your advice and make the 15s more intense.
Thank you again for your help!

[magician27]

Thank you! I think maybe the reason I couldn't do the 20s is because I had already done some other shoulder exercises.

always start with compound movement like press as your first exercise to maximize your strength gain

[anonymous]

Try doing negatives with the current weights if you think that 15 reps are too many.

[TimothyParker96]

always start with compound movement like press as your first exercise to maximize your strength gain

On Chest/Shoulder/Tri day I usually start with weighted wide grip push-ups.
Those are compound right?
Should I do those before shoulder presses still, or switch to doing shoulder presses first?
Also I believe that most of my exercises are compound because I only have free weights, I don't have any access to machines or anything like that.